Unknown Time.
Eyes opened slowly.
A person's blurry vision had adjusted after a few blinks.
A white ceiling lined with orbs of light entered their vision.
Looking from side to side slowly, towering shelves stood on both sides, lined with rectangular metal plates of varying sizes.
" Oh, he's awake?" A smooth voice sounded, as a pretty face came into view.
"!!" Levi suddenly sat up, the sweat immediately pouring from his face as he looked at examined his body.
" I-I'm still human." He said, his eyes wide with surprise.
" I'm still human...i'm still me..." He grabbed his chest tightly, muttering as if to reassure himself.
"...Yes, you are still you. What happened?" A familiar voice sounded.
"..." Levi's head snapped to the side.
Only then did he notice the two people sitting at a table at his side.
" S-" Levi's voice was stuck in his throat.
' Did they see?' He thought.
' Did I transform? Did they see me?!' These questions swirled around in his head, as his heart pounded.
He looked extremely frightened, as he began panting.
" Junior brother!" Olivia called out to Levi.
" Y-Yes. Huff!" Levi answered weakly, his gaze unfocused.
" Calm down. Look at me. Breathe." She cupped Levi's sweaty face in her hands, as she said softly.
" Breathe, suuu, fuuu. Everything will be ok." She spoke softly, as Levi unconsciously followed her instructions.
" Senior...Sister Olivia.." He finally managed to calm down.
" Junior brother, what exactly happened for you to end up in such a state?" Olivia asked as she retracted her hands.
"..." Levi's heart began pounding once again.
" Junior brother, do you want to come and rest your head on my lap?" Olivia asked suddenly.
" Huh?!" The boy standing at the side shouted.
"..." Levi stared blankly.
" What happened?" Olivia asked the boy.
" N-Nothing, nothing happened!" The boy hurriedly said.
" I just suggested it since junior brother looked fairly shaken," Olivia said.
" Junior brother, I will explain how you ended up here. If you find it hard to breathe or otherwise, tell me, I will help you." She said as she sat on the floor neatly in front of Levi.
"..." Levi hesitantly nodded.
He had to know what happened while he was unconscious.
" While senior brother Yuri was on his way to the library, he saw you passed out on the ground," Olivia said.
"..." Levi's chest tightened as his breathing once again became haggard.
" He went to check your condition, but your body was so strained that it was like feeling a rock for a pulse," Olivia said.
" He came here to get me and we brought you back here." She said.
" You were sweating a lot and had a painful expression on your face." The boy standing to the side, Senior brother Yuri said.
" I can only imagine the pain you felt. I saw your veins twisting and...Suu, just the sight alone made me shudder." He rubbed his arms as if cold.
"..." Levi was just beginning to calm down, thinking, ' So nothing happened..' He sighed internally.
But then, Senior brother Yuri continued.
" Oh, your arm is back to normal now?" He asked.
"..." Levi's heart pounded.
" You were clutching it very tightly as it went from black to normal, to black again," Yuri said.
' Because even when I lost consciousness, I was still trying to suppress the bloodline!' Levi thought as his shallow calm deteriorated.
" Junior brother, why don't you tell us what happened?" Olivia asked.
" If you don't want to tell us, you can go to Mr. Swon or your class teacher instead." She said.
"..." Levi opened his mouth but closed it.
' They saw!' He thought.
' How much did they see?!'
' I have lie, they can't know!'
' But what if they told me less than they know to test me? To find out if I am lying?!'
' What should I do?!'
' What?!'
Levi's thoughts whirled.
" Junior brother?" Olivia called out.
" Is he ok? His face is looking bad again!" Yuri peeked around the corner to make sure no one was close by.
' What? what? what? what? what? what?' This word was endlessly repeated in Levi's mind.
'..At...Brat!!' The demon saint's voice sounded.
' Oh, demon saint? What should I do? what? what? what do I do?' Levi questioned repeatedly.
' Hey! Shut up!' The demon saint roared.
'...' Levi complied unconsciously, then, as he was about to start repeating "what" again, the demon saint spoke.
' Think carefully! If you break down now, then you will not have a choice but to leave here!' He said.
' Then what should I do?' Levi questioned.
' That depends on what you want to do!' The demon saint said.
" But I don't know what to do!" Levi roared aloud, startling his seniors.
' Calm down and think! Do you have a reason to stay here? What is it? How beneficial is it? Against a valid reason to leave, how does it fare?' The demon saint reasoned.
'...I have to find out what I can about primordial cultivation. That information is important for the future of my cultivation. Aside from this incident, I don't have any other serious reasons to leave.' Levi said monotonously after a moment.
' Then hurry up and think! Right now you can still salvage the situation, but if these two report what they know, your chances of having to leave will shoot up to 100%!' The demon saint said.
'...' Levi kept silent.
' Think for yourself how to get out of this situation!' The demon saint said.
'...Seems like the kid is deeply haunted by what happened when he transformed the first time.' The demon saint thought.
' To the point of doing what I say without objection...' He thought.
"..." Levi suddenly sucked in a deep breath.
" Junior brother? How are you?" Olivia asked warily.
" Senior sister..." Levi's voice was terrible.
" To tell you the truth..." He squeezed out.
" This isn't the first time something like this happened." He said.
He then went on to explain what Miss Noble had done in the class earlier.
" I don't know why, but when I am in danger, my body changes in various ways." He said.
" I don't know if it does so to help me, or to deliver me to an early death." He drew his legs back, as he buried his face into his palms.
" I just want to live normally, but..." He said.
" Does it...have anything to do with your eyes?" Olivia asked, concerned.
" I don't know. One day, it just happened. At that time I had to run for my life since the people who saw thought I was some kind of demon...I.." Levi sniffed.
" Then...Do you want to let Mr. Swon take a look and see if he knows what's wrong?" Olivia asked.
" No!" Levi shouted.
"..." Olivia flinched.
Yuri pulled out a circular piece of metal, as an inscription was immediately activated.
" Senior sister, do you know how people considered freaks are treated?!" Levi asked.
" Do you know...How they are strung up and killed? Just because they are a little different? Just because people are unnecessarily afraid?!" Levi questioned.
" If! If that is going to happen to me, then I will just kill myself right now!" Levi formed a dagger with qi, before stabbing at his neck.
" What are you doing!!" Olivia's face paled instantly.
She immediately moved, grabbing Levi's neck with one hand in an attempt to stop the gushing blood.
" Yuri!" Olivia shouted, startling Yuri greatly.
"..." He caught her meaning almost instantly, dropping a pill into Levi's mouth.
" Agh!" A fiery pain exploded from the hole in his neck, as Levi gasped.
" Don't stop me! If I am going to die, I will die cleanly! Even if I have to do it myself, I!" Tears fell from Levi's eyes as he said.
" Stop! Stop! I won't tell! Anyone! I won't tell, so stop!" Olivia almost died from fright as Levi formed another dagger.
She hurriedly hugged his head, bringing it down to her chest as he wept.
Levi's heartbreaking cries reverberated, as he grabbed onto Olivia's small back.
"..." Olivia turned her gaze toward Yuri, who stood still as a statue beside them, a few beads of cold sweat on her worried face.
"..." Yuri motioned with his eyes, as he held out the circular piece of metal in his hand.
' Don't worry, I already activated my sound isolation inscription...' He thought.
"..." Olivia nodded heavily.
...
A few minutes later.
"...Is he asleep?" Yuri couldn't help but break the silence.
" It seems so?" Olivia forced out, her face pale.
" Junior sister...Eat this quickly." Yuri noticed her pained expression and said quickly.
" No. You have already used one of your pills for my sake. I don't know if I will be able to pay you back." Olivia said.
" Sigh. You know that you don't have to pay me back. Why are you so stubborn?" Yuri asked.
" At the very least...let's go to the physician department." He said.
"...Ok," Olivia said.
" He's coming too," Yuri said.
" What? But-" Olivia was cut off.
" He's coming," Yuri said.
"...Fine, but make sure that you keep quiet about what we discussed." Olivia said.
" Hmm." Yuri hummed.
...
' Brat...Oi.' The demon saint called out.
' Mhm...' Levi weakly responded.
' Those two are taking you somewhere.' The demon saint said.
' Mhm, where?' Levi groaned.
' Physician department.' The demon saint said.
' Is that bad?' Levi asked.
' You tell me.' The demon saint asked.
' I don't know...' Levi said.
' What did...you do to me? So sleepy...' Levi asked.
' Didn't you ask me to help you? All you need to know is that I did.' The demon saint said.
' You...' Levi could only get this out before his small bit of consciousness faded.
...
After an unknown amount of time.
" Senior brother! Didn't you say that you wouldn't talk about that!" Olivia's voice sounded from the distance.
" I understand your frustration, junior sister, but this is to ensure the safety of others." Yuri's voice sounded.
" If that boy is telling the truth, then I understand his reluctance to talk about the matter. But if he is lying..." He said.
" You..." Olivia was about to say something but decided to swallow her words.
" Thank you for your help today, senior brother." She said formally.
" I will go inform Mr. Swon about what happened in the new teacher's class today, excluding what junior brother has revealed to us earlier." She said.
" I will be back for him afterward, no need to trouble yourself. And about your pill, I will find some way to pay you back for it." She said, before turning and leaving.
"..." Levi lay on his back silently.
" That girl...Oh, you're awake." Yuri said, before noticing Levi had opened his eyes.
" You..." Levi's hoarse voice sounded, but his eyes never left the ceiling.
" I want to ask you straight up. Is everything you said earlier the truth?" Yuri asked with a smile.
"..." Levi kept silent.
"...I wouldn't have stabbed my own neck if I was lying." He asked.
" But, what if you knew it would reinforce your lies?" Yuri opened his eyes slightly.
" I stabbed myself," Levi repeated.
" Yes, knowing that junior sister would save you," Yuri said.
"..." Levi kept silent.
" And what kind of new disciple has qi strong enough to pierce himself?" Yuri asked.
" I got ahold of a cultivation manual and practiced before I came here," Levi said softly.
" From where?" Yuri asked.
" My previous employer..." Levi said.
" Hmm. Then let me change the question." Yuri said.
" You claim to want to live a normal life. Then why did you join this sect?" Yuri asked.
" Then, senior brother!" Levi sat up.
" Let me ask you a question! If you were in my position, what would you do?!" Levi shouted.
" If I had the option of living in peace, do you think I would save whatever little bit of money I made to be able to come here??" Levi asked.
" Do you think that I would choose to be in this place where people misunderstand and treat me like an outcast due to jealously? Hmm?" He asked.
"..." Yuri kept silent.
" If I could live normally, then why did even formers and children find their tools or tree branches and rocks to try to kill me??" Levi questioned.
" If I could live normally, then why did people try to beat me to death for something I had no control over? Can you answer this question for me?!" Levi asked, fiery rage spewing from his eyes.
" Do you think that I wanted eyes like this? That I wanted my body to grow or shrink without me wanting it or knowing about it?! Do you think so?!" Levi shouted.
" Young people sure are energetic." An aged voice sounded.
" Who's there?!" Levi was alarmed.
" Haha, sorry for the racket elder." Yuri turned and bowed to the door behind him.
" Hmm." Yuri turned back to face Levi.
' His feeling on this subject seem real enough, but something still feels off about this boy. Regardless of if his story is true or not.' Yuri thought.
" Ok, ok. I'll have to apologize for testing you." Yuri smiled.
"Te-Testing?" Levi asked with a suspicious gaze.
" Yeah, well, junior sister is somewhat gullible at times, you see." Yuri sighed.
" Don't worry, what we discussed earlier won't be told to another soul." He said.
" Right, elder?" He asked.
"...Is that a request or an order?" The man in the other room asked.
" Hmm, how about a little bit of both?" Yuri said.
"..." The person silently accepted.
" So. What do you think of this guy's conditions, elder?" Yuri asked.
"...It sounds like a bloodline is running amok in this student's body." The voice responded after a pause.
'...He knows!' Levi's heart stopped.